Say HAPPY NEW YEAR the wide world 'round....

Arabic: Kul 'aam u antum salimoun

Chinese: Chu Shen Tan

Czechoslovakia: Scastny Novy Rok

Dutch: Gullukkig Niuw Jaar

Finnish: Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

French: Bonne Annee

German: Prosit Neujahr

Greek: Eftecheezmaenos o Kaenooryos hronos

Hebrew: L'Shannah Tovah Tikatevu

Hindi: Niya Saa Moobaarak

Irish (Gaelic): Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit

Italian: Buon Capodanno

Khmer: Sua Sdei tfnam tmei

Laotian: Sabai dee pee mai

Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku

Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo

Russian: S Novim Godom

Serbo-Croatian: Scecna nova godina

Spanish: Feliz Ano Neuvo

Prospero Ano Nuevo

Turkish: Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Vietnamese: Cung-Chuc Tan-Xuan

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.--Pietro Aretino 

At about.com I found this information about winter gods and goddeses and found it kinda interesting! 

Alcyone (Greek): Alcyone is the Kingfisher goddess. She nests every winter for two weeks, and while she does, the wild seas become calm and peaceful.

Ameratasu (Japan): In feudal Japan, worshippers celebrated the return of Ameratasu, the sun goddess, who slept in a cold, remote cave.

Baldur (Norse): Baldur is associated with the legend of the mistletoe. His mother, Frigga, honored Baldur, asked all of nature to promise not to harm him. Unfortunately, in her haste, Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant, so Loki - the resident trickster - took advantage of the opportunity and fooled Baldur's blind twin, Hod, into killing him with a spear made of mistletoe. Baldur was later restored to life.

Bona Dea (Roman): This fertility goddess was worshipped in a secret temple on the Aventine hill in Rome, and only women were permitted to attend her rites. Her annual festival was held early in December.

Cailleach Bheur (Celtic): In Scotland, she is also called Beira, the Queen of Winter. She is the hag aspect of the Triple Goddess, and rules the dark days between Samhain and Beltaine.

Demeter (Greek): Through her daughter, Persephone, Demeter is linked strongly to the changing of the seasons and is often connected to the image of the Dark Mother in winter. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, Demeter's grief caused the earth to die for six months, until her daughter's return.

Dionysus (Greek): A festival called Brumalia was held every December in honor of Dionysus and his fermented grape wine. The event proved so popular that the Romans adopted it as well.

Frigga (Norse): Frigga honored her son, Baldur, by asking all of nature not to harm him, but in her haste overlooked the mistletoe plant. Loki fooled Baldur's blind twin, Hod, into killing him with a spear made of mistletoe but Odin later restored him to life. As thanks, Frigga declared that mistletoe must be regarded as a plant of love, rather than death.

Holly King (British/Celtic): The Holly King is a figure found in British tales and folklore. He is similar to the Green Man, the archetype of the forest. In modern Pagan religion, the Holly King battles the Oak King for supremacy throughout the year. At the winter solstice, the Holly King is defeated.

Horus (Egyptian): Horus was one of the solar deities of the ancient Egyptians. He rose and set every day, and is often associated with Nut, the sky god. Horus later became connected with another sun god, Ra.

La Befana (Italian): This character from Italian folklore is similar to St. Nicholas, in that she flies around delivering candy to well-behaved children in early January. She is depicted as an old woman on a broomstick, wearing a black shawl.

Lord of Misrule (British): The custom of appointing a Lord of Misrule to preside over winter holiday festivities actually has its roots in antiquity, during the Roman week of Saturnalia.

Odin (Norse): In some legends, Odin bestowed gifts at Yuletide upon his people, riding a magical flying horse across the sky. This legend may have combined with that of St. Nicholas to create the modern Santa Claus.

Saturn (Roman): Every December, the Romans threw a week-long celebration of debauchery and fun, in honor of their agricultural god, Saturn. Roles were reversed, and slaves became the masters, at least temporarily. This is where the tradition of the Lord of Misrule originated.

Spider Woman (Hopi): Soyal is the Hopi festival of the winter solstice. It honors the Spider Woman and the Hawk Maiden, and celebrates the sun's victory over winter's darkness.

 

 Samhain Superstitions and Omens

Many people in various parts of the world consider it to be extremely unlucky to look at their reflection in a mirror by candlelight on Samhain.

Many people also believe that mirrors are the gateways to the other worlds, and cover mirrors with black cloths on Samhain to keep the gateway closed.

A burning candle placed inside a hollowed out pumpkin or jack-o-lantern on Samhain works to keep evil spirits and demons at bay.

For good luck, burn black and orange candles on Samhain. Black and Orange are the traditional colors of Samhain. On this day their magickal vibrations are at their peak.

If a candle should suddenly go out by itself on Samhain, as though being blown out by wind or by breath, this is said to be a sign that a ghost has come to call.

Always burn new candles at Samhain to ensure the best of luck. Likewise, it is not a good idea to burn Samhain candles at any other time of the year. To do so may cause you to experience bad luck and/or strange happenings over which you will have no control.

Gazing into the flame of a candle on Samhain will enable you to peer into the future. Many witches traditionally scry candle flames on Samhain to receive clairvoyant visions.

It is believed that if a person lights a new orange-colored candle at midnight on Samhain and lets it burn until the sun rises, he or she will be the recipient of good luck. However, according to an old legend from Europe, any person who bakes bread or journeys after sunset on Samhain runs the risk of conjuring forth bad luck in great abundance.

If the moon is new on Samhain, this indicates that the coming year will be fertile ground for new beginnings to take place, such as the start of a new project, a new career, or even a new way of thinking. For those desiring children, a new moon at Samhain is a lucky omen,
indicating a new birth within a year's time.

If the moon is waxing on Samhain, this indicates good luck throughout the coming year. It also indicates growth and an increase of all things that are positive nature.

If the moon is full on Samhain, this ensures that the powers of all forms of magick and divination practiced on this night will be at their greatest. A secret wish made at midnight will be realized within the coming year, and do not be surprised if an experience of a psychic nature awaits you in the very near future.

If the moon is waning on Samhain, this can be an omen of either good or bad consequences. It can indicate the elimination of such things as bad habits, unhealthy relationships and obstacles within the coming year. Or it can point to a decrease (such as in one's health) or a loss of some kind soon to take place.

If the moon is in the dark phase on Samhain, this is believed to be a very negative omen. Exercise extreme caution in all of your endeavors within the next twelve months, and it wouldn't hurt to protect yourself by wearing or carrying any type of amulet or talisman designed to ward off bad luck and misfortune.

I live here in Southern California and I'm sure if you turn on the radio, TV, or Internet you have heard of the terrible wildfires blazing around San Diego County.  My family has been really fortunate and has not had to evacuate yet, but myself and my family, my brothers family, and my mother, altho in different parts of the county, are all on standby to evacuate.  My sister-in-law's family has been evacuated and is staying with my brother.  Four years ago this happened with the Cedar fire and about 50,000 people were evacuated.  At that time it was the worst fire, not only in San Diego history, but in California history as well. The AP has estimated that these 9 fires, that have been burning in the past few days, have caused almost 1 million people to have been evacuated...it's really mind boggling.  Of course we are in a state of emergency and we are going to get state and federal aid but if you can keep us in your thoughts and prayers it would be appreciated.  Here is a link to the American Red Cross about the fires Southern California Wildfires

History of the Jack O'Lantern

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin.The Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.
Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern".
On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns.